Stand-Up and Succeed
by Tim Reynolds
Humor is such a vital part of our lives.
We all grasp at moments of humor when they float by, desperate to raise our serotonin levels with a smile, a chuckle, or an outright, belly-splitting guffaw and tears. Sometimes it’s hard to see the humor in the situation or the world around us…and that’s why we need professional humor-makers—especially stand-up comedians—whether live on a stage, in a Netflix special, or on YouTube.
For six years I treaded the boards and stared into the spotlights as an amateur comic willing to grab any time on almost any stage. I have performed for Baptist church groups (they don’t like jokes about farting dogs), lawyers and accountants (the more they drink, the less intelligent the jokes have to be), and I’ve had the rare honor of MCing a six-hour show featuring live music and burlesque acts, which is where standup comedy started—entertaining the audience while the stage hands reset the stage between acts of exotic dancers. Although, no matter what words were coming out of my mouth or what ears they were going into, there were basic rules I learned at the workshops given by working comics every Wednesday…
Read the rest of Stand Up and Succeed from Tim Reynolds in SEARCH Magazine‘s Winter 2022 #KeepLaughing issue.
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